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The Service For The 26th
Sabbath In Ordinary Time
September 29, 2001
[The “+”
indicates that the Moderator and the
Congregation are to cross
themselves, if they should so choose.]
[The
men, upon entering, must remove all their clothes and when they have found a
proper place to sit, out of respect for the sanctuary of our Lord, must kneel
before entering the pew. It is expected that they will furnish and use their
own serviettes.]
[The Choir is to sing the antiphon. If there
is no Choir the Congregation is to recite it.]
Choir (or Congregation):
“O Lord, you had just cause to judge men as You did: because we sinned against You and disobeyed Your will. But now show us Your greatness of heart, and treat us with Your unbounded kindness.”
[The
Altar man, holding the censer, and the Moderator,
in that order, line up for the procession. The rest of the Congregation lines up behind them row by row and proceeds to walk
around the church in the procession.]
Choir (or Congregation):
“O Lord, you had just cause to judge men as You did: because we sinned against You and disobeyed Your will. But now show us Your greatness of heart, and treat us with Your unbounded kindness.”
[After
the procession is over, the Congregation
takes their seats and the regular service begins.]
Moderator: + “In the name of the Father, and
of the Son and of the Holy Ghost, Most Holy and Eternal Trinity.”
Moderator: “Let us all join in a statement
of our faith:”
Congregation and Moderator: “We believe that God, through His Holy Word, has made it
more than evident as to how He wishes to be worshipped. Man, as represented by
Adam, was created by God in His image. This creation was meant to be in harmony
with Nature and the Natural Laws. To this end men were created to be naked and
to worship God in that, their natural state. It is only by the shame of having
sinned that Adam felt that he had to hide himself behind clothes. We believe
that by encasing ourselves in clothes that we are only mimicking Adam in his
sin and rebellion against the First Cause. God, in His Holy Wisdom, had given
Adam the option of eternal life in his nakedness. But he, in his ignorance,
cast away the blessing of nudity that God so fervently wanted him to have. We
believe that we of the Apertarian Church must return to the First Cause in the
way He has called us to worship Him. We offer an open door to any Gay male who
chooses to worship with us in the joys and blessings of his God-given nudity.
For those who wish not to join us we offer prayers that God will also bless
them. When His time is right He will open their eyes that they might see what
has been so abundantly revealed to us.”
Moderator: “Amen.”
Old Testament Lesson
Moderator: “The Old Testament lesson for the
26h Sabbath in Ordinary Time is found in:
Ezekiel 18: 25-28
25. Yet ye say, The way of the Lord is not equal. Hear now, O house of Israel; Is not my way equal? are not your ways unequal?
26. When a righteous [man] turneth away from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, and dieth in them; for his iniquity that he hath done shall he die.
27. Again, when the wicked [man] turneth away from his wickedness that he hath committed, and doeth that which is lawful and right, he shall save his soul alive.
28. Because he considereth, and turneth away from all his transgressions that he hath committed, he shall surely live, he shall not die.
Moderator: “This is the word of the Lord.”
Congregation: “Thanks be to God.”
Responsorial Psalm
Response:
“Remember Your mercies, O Lord.”
Moderator: Your ways, O Lord, make known to
me; teach me Your paths, Guide me in Your truth and teach me, for You are God
my savior.”
Congregation: “Remember Your mercies, O Lord.”
Moderator: “Remember that Your compassion, O
Lord, and your kindness are from of old. The sins of my youth and my frailties
remember not; in Your kindness remember me, because of Your goodness, O Lord.”
Congregation: “Remember Your mercies, O Lord.”
Moderator:
“Good and upright is
he Lord; thus He shows sinners the way. He guide3s the humble
to justice, He teaches the humble His way.”
Congregation: “Remember Your mercies, O Lord.”
The New Testament Lesson
Moderator: “The New Testament lesson for the
26th Sabbath in Ordinary Time is found in
Philippians 2: 1-5
1. If [there be] therefore any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any bowels and mercies,
2. Fulfil ye my joy, that ye be likeminded, having the same love, [being] of one accord, of one mind.
3. [Let] nothing [be done] through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves.
4. Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others.
5. Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:
Thus
endeth the New Testament lesson for today.”
[The Moderator then raises the Bible.]
Moderator: “This is the word of the Lord.”
Congregation: “Thanks be to God.”
The Gospel Lesson
Moderator: “The Gospel lesson for the 26th
Sabbath in Ordinary Time is found in
Matthew 21: 28-32
28. But what think ye? A [certain] man had two sons; and he came to the first, and said, Son, go work to day in my vineyard.
29. He answered and said, I will not: but afterward he repented, and went.
30. And he came to the second, and said likewise. And he answered and said, I [go], sir: and went not.
31. Whether of them twain did the will of [his] father? They say unto him, The first. Jesus saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That the publicans and the harlots go into the kingdom of God before you.
32. For John came unto you in the way of righteousness, and ye believed him not: but the publicans and the harlots believed him: and ye, when ye had seen [it], repented not afterward, that ye might believe him.
[The Congregation rises as the altar man
rings the bells.]
Congregation: + “In the name of the Father, the
Son and the Holy Spirit, Most Holy and Eternal Trinity.”
Moderator: Thus endeth the Gospel for
today.”
[The Moderator holds up the Bible]
Moderator: “This is the Word of the Lord.”
Congregation: “Thanks be to God!”
A hymn
is sung at this point.
[The Congregation then sits down as the
altar man rings the bells.]
The Homily
“Publican or Priest, Which Are You?”
Moderator: “In our gospel lesson for today
Jesus gives us a parable of warning. How many people are convinced that they
are going to heaven? How could a loving God refuse them entrance into His
heaven? They are convinced that because other men esteem them they are very
important people; or because they do nice things God will reward them. Yet look
at the parable. The first son said “no” when his father told him to work in the
vineyard. But later he thought about it and went out and worked in his father’s
fields. Rebellious? Yes, at first. Yet, after thinking about it, he cooperated.
Although at first he didn’t do his father’s instructions, he did them anyway.
Compare
that now to the other son, the son who said “yes” to his father’s face. Did he
go out into the field and actually work? No. Oh, he said the right things.
Obviously he knew all the right words to say. But was there any sincerity
behind those slick words of his? Not one bit! This was proven out when he
didn’t go out to the fields. He was far too self-important to get his hands
dirty. Now, carrying the comparison one stop further, as Jesus did, we find
that one son - the one who first said “no”, but later went - was representative
of the publicans and harlots.
The
publicans were the at the bottom of the barrel in Jewish society. They were the
tax collectors of their day. And they weren’t a nice bunch. Each province,
town, city, etc. was assessed and expected to produce a certain amount of tax
for the government in Rome. Anything over the amount of tax owed was considered
to be his as payment of his services. Some of them - if not the majority - were
very brutal in their methods of collecting those taxes. That is why they were
despised, not only by their own people, the Jews, but also by the people who
hired them, the Romans.
The
harlots - the whores - of the day were also despised. They also were on the
lowest rung of society’s ladder. And society made no bones about letting them
know where they stood. The whore may have had a heart of gold, but her money
was simply not acceptable by the temple authorities, as money-hungry as they
were.
These
two classes of people knew they were sinners. They, like the first son, had at
first said “no” to God’s message. But later, when God offered them another
opportunity they recanted and accepted His offer and went to work in His
vineyard. They knew the value of His offer.
As to
the second son... Jesus compared him to the chief priests and elders of the
people. These were very important personages. They held high positions among
the men of their society. They were very powerful people. All their life had
been spent in learning and living the Law. They knew it backwards and forwards.
It was their entire life. And they wore their beautiful, expensive robes of
office with pride everywhere they went. There was no question of who they were
and how important other men considered them. All anyone would have to do was to
look at them. It was easy to tell by the way they dressed that they were people
of significance and didn’t have to do any menial work.
They
were the self-righteous, wearing their knowledge of the Law like a badge of
honor on their sleeves. Oh, they knew the Law, every jot and dot of it. And
they lived the Law, too, with every “t” crossed and every “i” dotted. But it
was a hollow performance. They were pretty paper bags: all outward show and
sham, but with absolutely nothing inside. They were hollow, thinking good works
and good words could get them into heaven.
So now
we have the two sons: One who said “no”
but later recanted, and the other who said “yes” but later rebelled.
Jesus then went on to compare the owner of the vineyard to John the Baptist,
who went about the countryside, calling sinners to recant and be baptized. And
what happened when people heard the messages that he had to offer? Some,
knowing that they were sinners, recanted and got baptized, while others turned
away, convinced that they didn’t need to be saved. Look at their clothes
compared to John the Baptist’s! All he wore was a simple camel’s hair robe and
sometimes, especially when he was baptizing, he didn’t even wear that! They
didn’t need his message. They had everything that society could give them: fine
clothes, good food, and a high and important place among men... No, John the
Baptist had nothing to offer them.
Yet John
turned away no one who would come to him. But the chief priests and elders were
too proud in their respectability to become naked and be baptized in public.
No, no, no, no, no. They wore their self-righteousness just as snugly and as
smugly as they wore their fine robes. So they continued to live in their hollow
existences, letting their souls die.
Now the
question arises: who are you? Are you one of the publicans and whores, or are
you one of the chief priests and elders? Are you the son who said “no”” but
recanted and gained salvation? Or are you the other son who said “yes” but
didn’t obey, figuring he was already so good he didn’t have to work out his
salvation?
In case
you were thinking that you didn’t have to worry because you were pretty good,
listen to St. Paul. Romans 3: 23: “For all have sinned and come short of the
glory of God.” and again he says in Romans 3: 10: ‘As it is written, There is
none righteous, no, no one...”
We
Apertarians are told to 1) keep His Sabbaths. Well, the chief priests and
elders did that. But that’s’ all they did, and Jesus condemned them for it. 2)
We must choose the things that please Him. The publicans and whores did that!
And 3) we must take hold of His covenant. We must believe in Jesus as the Son
of God and our Savior, the Great Gay Martyr.
And our
reward? 1) We will be given a name AND a place in heaven greater than
heterosexual breeders. 2) We will be given that name and place for all
eternity. And 3) because Jesus’ sacrifice has removed all our sins AND the
shame that went with those sins, He has given us back our nakedness. Our
nakedness is a sign of our salvation: God-given and eternal. And we claim it as
our own.
Amen!
Thus
endeth the homily for today.”
Moderator: + “In the name of the Father, Son
and Holy Ghost, Most Holy and Eternal Trinity.”
The Offering
Moderator: “Jesus has said that the Lord
loves a cheerful giver. We pray that you will open up your heart and give so
that we may continue to carry God’s message of nakedness, healing and salvation
to all those Gay male Nudists who still are suffering needless pain and
rejection.”
[The
collection plate is then passed around while a hymn is sung. When the
collection is completed the collection plate(s) are brought forward and laid on
the altar. The Moderator then prays
over the gifts.]
Moderator: “Dear heavenly Father, we know we
can do nothing to merit Your eternal love. Yet You did love us before the
foundation of the world. Accept our humble gifts for Your service and bless the
givers also. We pray in Your Son’s name and for Your eternal glory. Amen.”
[The Moderator moves back to the pulpit.]
The Communal Prayer
Moderator: “The Lord be with you.”
Congregation: “And also with you.”
Moderator: + “Let us pray... Oh Lord, we
bring before You all of the problems of the day (here list petitions for local
problems). Help us to put in proper perspective the trials that You send our
way. We ask that You will look down on our efforts and help us to help the Gay
male Nudist who still suffers. We ask Your help in particular for N_____ and
N_____. We also pray for our leaders
who You have put into power. Give them the wisdom to make decisions that
reflect Your will. But we always and ever give You thanks and pray that You
will work Your will so that one day all men may walk free in their nakedness
the way You have created us to be. Let Your Holy Spirit guide us as we pray the
way Your Son taught us saying...”
Congregation and Moderator:
“Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. For Thou art the Kingdom and the Glory for ever and ever. Amen.”
Moderator: “Amen.”
The Communion Service
[The Moderator moves behind the altar and
faces the people.]
Moderator: “Brothers, we are gathered here
today to commemorate the sacrifice of our most Holy Lord Jesus Christ who by
His willful offering of His perfect self upon the cross secured for us the promise
of heaven in the next life and the blessings of nakedness in this life. Let us
each examine our consciences and prepare ourselves for the communion service.”
[Here is
observed a moment of silence while the men examine their consciences and
silently ask for forgiveness.]
Moderator: “The Lord Jesus the same night in
which He was betrayed took bread...”
[At this
point the Moderator elevates the
bread and displays it to all sides of the Congregation
while the bells are rung. The priest then genuflects.]
Moderator: “And when He had given thanks, He
broke it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you. This
do in remembrance of me.”
[The Moderator then breaks the wafer into
three pieces and places it in the chalice of grape juice.]
Congregation: “This, Lord, we will remember, to
keep it holy.”
Moderator. “After the same manner also He
took the cup, and when He had supped said, “This cup is the new testament in my
blood: this do ye as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me.”
[The Moderator then elevates the chalice
filled with grape juice and displays it to all sides of the Congregation while the altar man rings
the bells. The priest genuflects.]
Congregation: “This, Lord, we will remember, to
keep it holy.”
Moderator: “For as often as ye eat this
bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord’s death till He come.”
[The Congregation then lines up to receive
communion. The Moderator dips a
wafer in the grape juice and offers it to each communicant. Each may take
communion the way he feels is right, i.e., standing or kneeling, in his hand or
in his mouth, etc. When all have received communion the Moderator then offers communion to the altar man, if there is one.
He then takes communion himself, and drinks ALL OF THE GRAPE JUICE IN THE CHALICE.
He carefully washes the chalice and covers it with an altar cloth. He then
returns to the pulpit.]
[A hymn
is sung.]
Moderator: “Please stand for the final
benediction.’
[The Congregation stands.]
Moderator: + “The Lord bless thee, and keep
thee: The Lord make His face to shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee: The
Lord lift up His countenance upon thee, and give thee peace. Go thy way and be
at peace in thy nakedness. The service is ended. In the name of the Father, and
of the Son and of the Holy Ghost, most Holy and Eternal Trinity.”
[At this
point a closing hymn may be sung.]
[The Congregation then observes a moment of silence while the Moderator goes to the front door to welcome the men as they exit. When the altar man rings the bells the men are then free to dress and leave the service.]